I'm getting ready to paint the T34 I'm working on and have a question on the wheels.
I have two of the large wheels with the rubber (on each side of the tank), but the ones in the middle do not look like they have any rubber on them. Are they metal or is there a thin layer of rubber that is not defined by a rim? If there is no rubber on the wheels do they just get painted the color of the tank and maybe weather them to show some steel as if the paint has been worn away?

I know absolutely nothing about tank wheels. And if the middle wheels I'm working on have no rubber, is this what is refered to as steel wheels?

TGame, rubber was in short supply in Russia during WWII. Yes the road wheels would be steel. Most cases I believe, had the first and last road wheels with rubber. It was more a matter of what was available at the factory.
As far as the reference to steel wheels I don't know...I thought it was used to refer to railroads.

Thanks Kencelot.
As for steel wheels, I've seen some models that say steel wheel version, never understood what that meant.

The reason why it is the first and last is to absorb some of the impact when traveling. And since rubber was in short supply like Ken said, they put the rubber rimmed wheel where it would help the most.

That´s correct TheGame, just paint them with the same color used to the tank main body and them you should heavily weather it....
HTH

I use an ordinary pencil to represent worn metal. Just paint the roadwheels the normal tank color and then color the outer rim surfaces with a trusty #2 pencil.

TGame-the #2 pencil routine is fool proof! Works like a champ. Try it, you'll like it.
DJ